More than 100 people paraded through Freddie Shaheen's deli Sunday for a taste and feel of New York in his recently renovated sandwich shop, the first business to be highlighted in the 15-year-running Dormont Library House Tour.

	Tony Tye/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
	Freddie Shaheen at his Fredo's Deli on Potomac Avenue in Dormont.

"This is the first year I decided to think outside of the box," said Dormont Councilman Norman Simeone, who coordinates the annual tour, which usually showcases unique, interesting and historic homes in the borough.

"It was a way to show the people of Dormont that everything they need is right here."

Simeone's idea to include Fredo's Deli as a bonus stop on the tour this year was not a whim. Simeone said he was impressed by the interior design and renovations that exposed the original tin ceilings and hardwood floors in the old storefront shop, creating what Shaheen calls his Mediterranean New York decor.

Many of the visitors ended the tour at Fredo's, bearing bottles of wine and frozen daiquiris as they dined inside the gold-colored deli, which is adorned with custom caricature paintings depicting Shaheen and his deli accoutrements.

"I heard a lot of, 'Oh, thank you for bringing this here, Dormont needs a place like this,' " Shaheen said.

"The people from the house tour really helped raise our awareness. They were our kind of crowd."

A grand opening in October will help kick off the expansion of an outdoor patio and back-room coffeehouse where wine tasting, acoustic bands and other regular events are tentatively on Fredo's schedule.

The tour was a plus for Shaheen, who has been working to bring a new flavor to Potomac Avenue's tree-lined business district since he opened in December.

Working with neighboring business owners, he is hoping to pull a fall festival together and to build a stronger business association in the borough, which he said had been stagnant for the past seven years.

He hopes to establish a catering and lunch service to local South Hills businesses, adding to the Downtown clientele he has served for years.

Shaheen chose to open his deli in Dormont, where he established his first sandwich shop after college.

From that first venture more than 18 years ago, his business grew, with the Carson Street Deli on the South Side being his most notable enterprise. It has drawn such names as Mario Lemieux, Bruce Springsteen and Puff Daddy.

Once coined the "Sandwich Nazi" by his regular Carson Street clientele, Shaheen prides himself on the rare, New York-style sandwiches he brings to Pittsburghers, such as The Godfather, a baguette loaded with imported salami, Sopressata, oregano, peppers and provolone.

But some, like Steven Affeltranger, who races over from his office at an architectural firm in Mt. Lebanon for his half-hour lunch, prefer the more traditional deli fare. He usually orders the egg salad sandwich.

"It's the best around," said Affeltranger, who followed not only the food from Carson Street, but also the charisma Shaheen brings to the deli. "I look for people with character. It adds flavor to what would be a boring lunch."